Moving to Alabama from Maine
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Maine to Alabama — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Maine to Alabama, you would find that Alabama is 15.6% cheaper than Maine. A $75,000 salary in Maine would need to be roughly $63,300 in Alabama to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Huntsville averages 73°F vs 56°F in Portland, making it significantly warmer. Portland and Huntsville are about 1,050 mi apart.
Is Alabama cheaper than Maine?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 8.6% less
Groceries
pay 20.0% less
Transportation
pay 6.5% more
Housing
pay 22.3% less
Childcare
pay 34.0% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.5% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Alabama?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $63,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Alabama
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Alabama cost about 4% less than cities in Maine.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Maine to Alabama.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Maine performs better than Alabama across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Maine performs better than Alabama across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Alabama generally does better on what about housing?, though Maine leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Maine performs better than Alabama across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Maine generally does better on employment & economy, though Alabama leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Maine performs better than Alabama across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Alabama vs Maine
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Portland | Huntsville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) | 57°/36°F (14°/2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 81°/59°F (27°/15°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) | 89°/67°F (32°/20°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) | 64°/42°F (18°/6°C) |
View all months
| Month | Portland | Huntsville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) | 51°/32°F (10.7°/-0.1°C) |
| Feb | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) | 56°/35°F (13.3°/1.9°C) |
| Mar | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) | 65°/42°F (18.3°/5.7°C) |
| Apr | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) | 74°/50°F (23.1°/10.0°C) |
| May | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) | 81°/59°F (27.4°/15.2°C) |
| Jun | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) | 88°/67°F (31.2°/19.5°C) |
| Jul | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) | 91°/70°F (32.6°/21.3°C) |
| Aug | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) | 91°/69°F (32.7°/20.8°C) |
| Sep | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) | 85°/62°F (29.4°/16.9°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) | 75°/51°F (23.7°/10.6°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) | 64°/42°F (17.6°/5.4°C) |
| Dec | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) | 53°/34°F (11.9°/1.3°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Alabama than Maine?
Yes — Alabama is on average about 16% cheaper than Maine. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Alabama?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $15,825 in Alabama on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Alabama safe?
Maine performs better than Alabama across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Alabama compared to Maine?
Maine performs better than Alabama across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Alabama compared to Maine?
The average high temperature in Huntsville is 73°F, compared to 56°F in Portland. Huntsville receives around 54.3 in of rainfall per year, while Portland gets 47.2 in.
